17 July 2011 - Gary Robb will be extradited to the Greek Republic of Cyprus

Our sources advise that on 13 June 2011 Robb appeared at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court where his extradition to the Greek Republic of Cyprus was ordered. Robb had until June 20 to appeal this decision, but no appeal was lodged. Therefore our understanding is that he will be extradited to the Greek Republic of Cyprus (GROC) within 10 days of his release from prison on 31 July 2011.

We believe that the extradition date is scheduled to be 9 August 2011

Mr Gary Robb at theAmaranta Valley site

The following is a response to a Freedom of Information request by Pauline Read, a member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists

Your email below was passed on to press office for a response as we deal with media inquiries of this nature. Police and the CPS do not confirm whether arrest warrants have been issued in extradition cases until the persons named in the warrants are in custody and appear before the court.

I can therefore only confirm that the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court has ordered the extradition of Gary Robb on June 13, 2011. You will need to speak to the police in Cyprus about the two others named in your email.

The European Arrest Warrant relates to nine offences of which the defendant Gary Robb is accused. The alleged conduct may be summarised as follows: between 2004 and 2005, the defendant conspired with others (named as Tuncel Tahir SOYCAN and Akan Kursat TALAT) to develop land which did not belong to them, and to sell villas built without permission upon that land by means of false representations to the prospective purchasers. The land in question is situated in two localities; Franga and Paliomantra. These are areas within Kyrenia district in the occupied territory of northern Cyprus

The development of this land without ownership or permission forms the basis of charges under Cypriot law of (i) criminal trespass; (ii) illegal possession, cultivation, enjoyment or use of land; and (iii) malicious damage on trees.

The second aspect of the case concerns the fraudulent sale or offering for sale of villas on the illegally-developed plots of land. These fraudulent sales and offerings for sale are reflected in charges under Cypriot law of (i) obtaining goods by false pretences; (ii) fraud on the sale or mortgage of property; (iii) attempting to obtain money by false pretences; and (iv) money laundering.

The remaining two charges cited in the EAW are offences of conspiracy, namely (i) conspiracy to commit a felony and (ii) conspiracy to commit a misdemeanour.

The fraud is alleged to have occurred between April 2004 and April 2005. The contracts of sale entered into totalled £1.2m. We don't have details of the investors and none were given in court.

One property on this development was on offer for resale at £50,000 cash. Needless to say this would not be a prudent purchase.

The fact that Gary Robb appears to have waived his right to appeal against the extradition application is a matter for speculation. Perhaps the fact that he is a convicted criminal in the UK may have been considered a sufficient reason to agree to the extradition.

The alleged crimes that Mr Robb has committed in Cyprus affect both North and South Cyprus.

His likely trial in the Greek Republic of Cyprus will focus on the land abandoned by fleeing Greek Cypriots during the inter communal conflict which led to the partition of the island in 1974. Dispossessed Greek Cypriots and their heirs do retain rights to lands lost around 1974, but it is unclear how a prosecution of Gary Robb will provide a remedy for this loss. Mr Robb will certainly have no assets in the Greek Republic of Cyprus. Any assets he or his company, Aga Developments holds in North Cyprus remain outside of the jurisdiction of the Greek Republic of Cyprus courts. There are funds of some £1.6m which were seized by the UK authorities, but we understand that these have been confiscated due to the view that they were the proceeds of drug crimes committed in the UK.

Therefore we consider any trial in South Cyprus to be essentially a show trial, the main purpose of which will be publicity. If a trial goes ahead, the main outcome will be to deter intending purchasers of North Cyprus property and to inflict damage on the TRNC economy.

Although it is unclear as to the precise charges which Mr Robb will face, his lawyers, should he retain lawyers, could point to the formation of the North Cyprus Immovable Property Commission, and its recognition by the European Court of Human Rights, as an appropriate vehicle for the procuring of a remedy for dispossessed Greek Cypriots. The Immovable Property Commission is accepting applications until December 2011 from dispossessed persons and can offer either compensation or restitution of land.

Any trial is likely to ignore or play down the existence of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) as a democratically elected and responsible administrator of North Cyprus. This is despite the fact that the two communities have been holding negotiations aimed at re-uniting the island for many years. The existence of the TRNC Immovable Property Commission is also likely to be conveniently ignored.

We are unsure as to whether Gary Robb, in person, or his company, Aga Developments Ltd, holds the TRNC issued Title Deeds to the lands in question. As Mr Robb gained TRNC citizenship, then there was an opportunity for him to become the registered holder of unlimited amounts of land in North Cyprus. What should be noted is that TRNC Title Deeds were issued for the land in question. In consequence, it is difficult to see how Mr Robb could be charged with criminal trespass and illegal possession of land.

As was the case with Linda and David Orams, this matter runs deeper than any alleged wrongdoing by Gary Robb. It is effectively a dispute between the Greek Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, with Mr Robb being a pawn in a larger game.